The Army Took Over the Spigots, Forcing Thirsty Venezuelans to Pay
As the system falls apart, water becomes a luxury. Drivers who marked up costs initially are now getting shaken down too.
People wait to fill their bottles at a spring on the Waraira Repano mountain in Caracas last month.
Photographer: Carlos Becerra/Bloomberg
To arrive at the El Paraiso water-filling station in Caracas by sunrise, Rigoberto Sanchez wakes before 4 a.m. Hours later, his tanker is in a slow-moving line with a dozen others. Only two of the 10 pumps work and Sanchez will have time for a couple of deliveries if he’s lucky. If he’s luckier, the military won’t intercept him.
“They hijack our trucks, just like that,” said Sanchez, leaning on a rusty railing. “Once that happens, you’re in their hands, you have to drive the truck wherever they want you to.”’